Ms. Dynamite – Interview

On the hook with Ms. Dynamite!

Is it good to be busy?

It is usually, but I’m not feeling too good today so it’s not so great today.

Is it daunting to push the album into America?

I wouldn’t say daunting. It is exciting more than anything.

Is it different for you as an artist than it is for another artist from the UK like Travis who has to come over with little play on MTV or radio and have to play bars?

Yes. If it didn’t work this way for me that radio picked me up my career would be non-existant in America. I wouldn’t be able to come over and play bars, I’m having a baby, and I’ll have to wait awhile. Can you give me one second? (Dynamite has to attend to her sick little brother who has drunk some Coke. You can tell that she’ll be a great mother.)

On the flipside, is it good in another way that you can come to America and not be known?

Yes, totally. Here [in England] I can’t go anywhere without being recognized. And then when you are someplace where there are people who don’t know you it’s refreshing.

Is it weird that fans in the States might think you are from America? I thought you were from the U.S.

It is weird, but I don’t really mind if they know where I’m from. I’d rather that fans hear the music and just enjoy it. I think a lot of people have been taken in by the fact that I’m not American and that I’m British. But I’d rather someone think I’m a good artist. But I don’t mind if someone thinks I’m from America. (Laughs)

How do you write tracks?

It’s never the same way. Some of the tracks are melodies that were created in my head and I sing them to a producer. Other times I’ll hear a beat and it inspires me, I have no real set way or pattern.

You get compared to other artists, what are your thoughts on comparisons?

The industry has to compare everyone, but I also think that happens in life in general. I think that is human nature, but I chose to not pay it much mind. Some comparisons are good because I get compared to a great artist, but either way I don’t take much of it in at all.

I guess I do it too when I want someone to listen to something I’m listening to.

It’s true, I do it too, but I don’t want to be compared, I want my music to stand alone.

You want to be the one everyone compares the next group of artists to.

(A very cute laugh) That would be really nice.

When did you get the idea you could be an artist for a living?

Probably not until halfway through making my album. Even when I signed my album deal I wasn’t taking it seriously. I had a really immature outlook on it, I saw it as a way to make money and that it was the easiest job I had ever had. Everything just seemed like fun and simple, but halfway through I started to take it more serious. When I started to write I realized what I was capable of. I don’t think it ever really sunk in. I started to tour and it became really hard work. You really have to put your heart and soul into it. This isn’t a job where you can be half-hearted about it.

What were your thoughts when you won some awards?

I’ve appreciated all the awards that I’ve won. There is something about getting awards. It’s is really nice and exciting. It’s nice to be appreciated by people.

Is there a love-hate relationship with you in the UK? It seems to be a reoccurring theme that I get when I interview artists from there.

That is a British press thing. That is how they are. I know how it feels. That is just the way they are. I think its part of the game and being in the limelight and having a voice and being someone. The whole British press motto is building them up so we can knock them down.

Artists seem very defensive.

You will get a lot of British artists that are defensive. We don’t start off like this I can promise you. The thing with me is that I get really pissed off by the things the press do, not because they aren’t on my side or if they support me. I don’t think they really say what they mean, even when they said they loved me I never paid much attention. It’s mostly the tabloids who want to sell a story. They can be very political and racist.

Is it nice to have a platform to speak your mind?

I am a person who all my life have always gotten in trouble for talking. (We both laugh) Seriously. From my parents to my school, every report card said I was an intelligent girl, but I talked too much. I just never knew when to shut up. It’s not just about talking, because I like to help and heal. I like to make people aware of what is around them. I think one of the biggest problems in the world is, not that people are horrible, ignorance. I like to enlighten people so they can’t claim they are ignorant. I like to make people aware and I think that is important.

That is what I got from Public Enemy growing up. They weren’t all about preaching, they were about awareness.

I agree. I believe in that. I think that is one of the biggest problems in the world. Racism, sexism and all that doesn’t just mean someone is a racist bastard because a lot of the time they are just ignorant and haven’t been brought up in a mixed culture. A lot of the time people just don’t know. It sounds mad in this day and age that people can’t know about it so I’m here to let them know.

I wonder if it isn’t just ignorance, but people just being lazy.

I totally agree. I wish I didn’t know everything that was going on because it would be easier if I didn’t give a damn. I see things that are going on around me and I’ll come home and for the next week I think about what I saw and hope things will be alright. Sometimes it would be easier to not care or give a damn. But I don’t choose to live my life as an ignorant person.

I wish I was ignorant sometimes as well. Wouldn’t life be much more enjoyable if we could just go about doing things without thinking or worrying? I guess that is why there is a saying ‘ignorance is bliss’.

That is so true.

What are your thoughts about things like the Dixie Chicks speaking out against the war and getting a major backlash. It seems to be a weird situation as fans usually look to artists as their voice. There seems to be things going on now that you can’t speak out or you’ll get retaliated against. Is this a set up for fans to cause themselves grief down the line by ignoring freedom of speech?

Personally I believe in freedom of speech. I think anyone should be allowed to say anything. Even if it hurts our feelings and it’s totally wrong. If someone feels it then it is their reality. The only way for them to overcome it, is by sayng it and we discuss it. By silencing people things will stay they way they are. I think it is so important that people are honest about how they feel about anything and everything. Music is important because it touches people and it is important that it informs people and touches on things they can relate to.

+ charlie craine